Billy Wright (footballer, born 1962)

Billy Wright

Personal information
Full name	William Hardy Rogers Wright
Date of birth	(1962-11-04) 4 November 1962 (age 62)
Place of birth	Corbridge, England
Position(s)	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1980–1983	Burnley	0	(0)
1982	→ Crewe Alexandra (loan)	3	(1)
1983–1984	Apollon Limassol
1984–1985	Dundalk	?	(8)
1985–1988	Mount Wellington
1989	Blacktown City Demons	2	(0)
1989	Morwell Falcons	23	(8)
1989–1990	West Adelaide	11	(3)
1990	Morwell Falcons	12	(9)
1990–1992	Miramar Rangers	12	(9)
1992–1994	Morwell Falcons	25	(9)
1994–1996	South Dandenong	75	(80)
1996–1998	Gippsland Falcons	13	(0)
1998–1999	South Dandenong	19	(8)
2000–2001	Cranbourne Comets	13	(10)
2002	Berwick City	22	(30)
2003	Noble Park	16	(15)
International career
1988–1993	New Zealand	15	(9)
Managerial career
1998	South Dandenong
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Billy Wright (born 4 November 1962) is a former footballer who played as a striker. His senior career included stints with Burnley F.C. (England), Dundalk (Ireland) as well as National Soccer League clubs Blacktown City Demons, West Adelaide and Morwell Falcons. ^[1] Born in England, he represented the New Zealand national team at international level.

Wright was perhaps best known for his three separate stints with the Morwell Falcons - first joining the club in 1989, where he played a pivotal role in a dynamic partnership with Croatian striker Darko Basara. The pair combined for 19 league goals as the Falcons broke through for their second Victorian state championship in six years. He also hit a memorable hat-trick in just 24 minutes against Maribyrnong Polonia in the second round of the Dockerty Cup.

He then signed for West Adelaide - the very club who defeated Morwell for promotion to the National Soccer League in 1989. He would rejoin Morwell in 1992 for their debut in the National Soccer League and played a pivotal role as the Falcons went within a point of making the finals in just their season season^{[ clarification needed ]} in the top flight. He would come back to the Latrobe Valley in 1996 for a final two-year spell, although by then he was in his mid-30s and spent much of his time mentoring future Socceroos international Archie Thompson.

Wright would finish his career in the lower divisions of Victorian football and still remained particularly prolific into his late 30's.

Wright made his full debut for New Zealand in a 2–0 win over Saudi Arabia on 21 June 1988 ^[2] and ended his international playing career having played 26 times for the All Whites, including 15 A-internationals in which he scored 9 goals, ^{[3] [4]} his final official cap being in a 1–0 loss to Australia on 30 May 1993. Wright has since moved to coaching where he has found his calling combining his talent and love of the game with his tough play style. ^[2]

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	23 June 1988	Melbourne, Australia	Saudi Arabia	2–0	3–2	Friendly
2.	11 December 1988	Wellington, New Zealand	Chinese Taipei	1–0	4–0	1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
3.	15 December 1988	Auckland, New Zealand	Chinese Taipei	1–0	4–1
4.	2 April 1989		Australia	2–0	2–0
5.	9 April 1989		Chinese Taipei	1–1	2–2
6.	7 June 1992	Christchurch, New Zealand	Fiji	1–0	3–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
7.				3–0
8.	24 May 1993	Palmerston North, New Zealand	Fiji	?–0	5–0	Friendly
9.				?–0

References

1. "Australian Player Database". OzFootball. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
2. "A-International Lineups". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
3. "A-International Appearances - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
4. "A-International Scorers - Overall". The Ultimate New Zealand Soccer Website. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2009.

External links

• Billy Wright – FIFA competition record (archived)